How to define the revolutionary subject is one of the central theoretical issues of modernity, as the response to this question shapes the development of political theory, strategy, and praxis. Claudio Napoleoni dedicated a significant portion of his work to addressing this issue. This article retraces his thinking during the 1980s on two key aspects of the problem. First, it examines his considerations on subjectivity, highlighting the fruitful interplay between Marxian economic theory, Heideggerian philosophy, and Catholic theology. Second, it assesses the political implications of these considerations. From reflections on the residues of the totalitarian tendency of capital, Napoleoni arrived at a more complex position, where a certain interpretation of Catholic anthropology allowed a further step beyond the Heideggerian critique of modern subjectivity. This provided the basis for the definition of a new revolutionary agent.
Annals of the Fondazione Luigi Einaudi
An Interdisciplinary Journal of Economics, History and Political Science
The Annals is a forum for the free exchange of ideas
among scholars working in the field of social sciences
among scholars working in the field of social sciences